Claiming Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing element
You could get Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit if you need help to pay your rent.
These can pay for all or part of your rent. How much you can get depends on your income and circumstances.
If you’re a homeowner, check what you can do if you have difficulty paying your mortgage.
Who can claim
You can claim if you’re unemployed or on a low income.
You can be renting from a private landlord, the local council or a housing association.
Only certain people can make a new application for Housing Benefit. Otherwise, you must claim Universal Credit.
Claiming Universal Credit housing element
This is sometimes called housing costs.
Apply for Universal Credit on GOV.UK.
Claiming Housing Benefit
You can only apply for Housing Benefit if you're either:
- state pension age
- living in sheltered, supported, or temporary housing
You apply through your local council.
Contact your council to claim housing benefit
- Aberdeen City Council
- Aberdeenshire Council
- Angus Council
- Argyll and Bute Council
- Clackmannanshire Council
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
- Dumfries and Galloway Council
- Dundee City Council
- East Ayrshire Council
- East Dunbartonshire Council
- East Lothian Council
- East Renfrewshire Council
- Edinburgh Council
- Falkirk Council
- Fife Council
- Glasgow City Council
- Highland Council
- Inverclyde Council
- Midlothian Council
- Moray Council
- North Ayrshire Council
- North Lanarkshire Council
- Orkney Islands Council
- Perth and Kinross Council
- Renfrewshire Council
- Scottish Borders Council
- Shetland Islands Council
- South Ayrshire Council
- South Lanarkshire Council
- Stirling Council
- West Dunbartonshire Council
- West Lothian Council
Check what you’re entitled to
The amount you can get will depend on your circumstances. These include:
- how much your rent is
- how many people live with you
- your household's income – including benefits, pensions and savings
- your circumstances – such as the age of people in your home, or if someone is disabled
- who you rent from – such as private landlord or the local council
The amount you’ll get can cover some service charges. It will not cover charges for heating, hot water, lighting, laundry or cooking.
Check how much you could be entitled to using the turn2us benefits calculator.
Local Housing Allowance if you rent from a private landlord
If you rent from a private landlord, the maximum amount you can get is determined by the Local Housing Allowance (LHA).
The LHA rate depends on:
- the council area you live in
- the number of bedrooms you qualify for
Checking your Local Housing Allowance rate
To check which LHA rate you qualify for, you can:
- check your local council rate on the Valuation Office Agency website
- check how many bedrooms you qualify for on the Valuation Office Agency website
If you need advice on your LHA rate, you can get help with benefits.
If your entitlement does not cover all your rent
In some cases, the benefit amount will not cover all your rent.
For example:
- if you’re affected by the benefit cap
- if you have one or more ‘spare’ rooms in a council or housing association home – sometimes called the bedroom tax
- if the LHA rate does not cover the full amount of rent in a private let
In these cases, you can apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment.